This iconic Toronto pizzeria is entering its nightlife era

When Pizzeria Libretto opened on Ossington way back in 2008, you had to fight for your life to get a table. Known for popularizing Neapolitan-style pizza in Toronto (hello, you sexy, soft, wood-fired crust, you), Libretto quickly expanded, opening three other locations. But, with the shifting economic winds and the neighbourhood’s changing vibes, executive chef and co-owner Rocco Agostino is taking his first-born baby in a different direction by rebranding the spot as Bar Libretto.

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“Families have moved out of the area, and the people coming to Ossington are younger and looking for more of a bar atmosphere,” says Agostino. “The strip has gone through a change, and this is the evolution we needed.”

Bar Libretto, which opens this Friday, will feature a pared-back menu of pizza (obviously) plus new snacky items like steak tartare and whipped whitefish with crostini. The lights will be lower, the music will be louder (and courtesy of live DJs on Fridays and Saturdays) and the hours will be later, with the kitchen cranking out food until midnight and a 2 a.m. last call for drinks.

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Agostino is also painfully aware that people are seeking the best bang for their buck right now, so Bar Libretto will be doing its best to keep a night out affordable. Cocktails will run between $10 and $14, and two daily happy hours (4 to 6 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.) will offer $6 beers and half-price bar rail drinks. Bottles of wine will be half-price every Wednesday, and more daily drink features will be announced soon.

“We opened in the middle of the 2008 recession,” says Agostino. “So we’re trying to take things back to the way they were at the beginning as much as we can.”